Media streams are typically aggregated into a transport stream for communicating the media across cable television networks, satellite networks, and Internet provider networks. The aggregation of multiple media streams into a transport stream is generally performed by a multiplexer. Typically, media is communicated through an upstream network before being multiplexed into a transport stream or encapsulated for delivery in a TCP/IP environment. The transport stream is then communicated through a downstream network for distribution to one or more end users. Unfortunately, available resources in networks upstream and downstream of a multiplexer vary depending on conditions and demands. Therefore, resources upstream of a multiplexer are ineffectively utilized when media is communicated at a quality, compression, or standard that exceed the resources available in a downstream network.
Available resources, user preferences, and device capabilities typically result in contention when communicating media from a media source to be multiplexed and eventually communicated to an end device. For instance, a media source, such as a mobile communications device, may request to communicate media, such as a captured video, at a high quality level. But, unknown to the media source, sufficient resources are not available further down stream in the communication flow of the media to support the requested level of quality. Therefore, the media source utilizes greater resources than necessary to begin the communication of the media at a higher quality level than is supported at a later point in the communication of the media.